Bangladesh Slowly

Life could get even worse in already disaster-prone Bangladesh if global warming continues unchecked, scientists say. Flooding, which already affects about one-fifth of the country, could increase by 40 percent as heavier rainfall triggered by climate change swamps riverbanks, according to a report in the current issue of New Scientist. Low-lying Bangladesh sits at the delta of three rivers, and scientific modeling found that a few-degree rise in global temperatures could increase the flow in two of those three rivers by 20 percent. In addition to imperiling homes and lives, such an increase could aggravate the economic problems and food shortages that already plague the nation, the magazine noted: “The land available to grow rice, vegetables, onion, and mustard crops will be significantly reduced, placing an intolerable pressure on farmers.”

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